Although AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and the other companies facing more than 40 lawsuits haven’t spoken at all about it publicly, they’ve been heard loud and clear on Capitol Hill. The industry has spent a total $13.4 million on lobbying in the first three months of this year, putting it on course to surpass last year’s $40.2 million total. Both AT&T and Verizon moved up in the ranks of companies spending on lobbying efforts (including those in all industries), from eighth and 13th last year to third and fourth, respectively, so far this year.

That’s right, At&T, Verizon, and Sprint have spent $13.4 million in three months to take away your 4th amendment rights.

Sounds like corruption. But is it working?

Yup.

And how much does it cost to get one representative to change a vote?

$8,359

According to maplight.org, which tracks government corruption, 94 Democrats changed their vote on FISA between March 14 and June 20. The average contribution that Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon made to those campaigns was $8,359, as opposed to $4,987 for those who did not change their votes.

My, my, my, I see here DNC heavyweight Rahm Emmanuel from Illinois’ 5th district changed his vote after receiving $28,000. He is always so impeccably dressed, too. Click |here| to see if your rep is on the list.